The term Girl power and the problematization of this popular feminist concept

The term Girl Power became popular as a way of attributing to women their due strength and value and is very present in liberal feminism. However, it is necessary to understand and warn about the decontextualized use of the concept. better understand what it is Girl Power and their problematizations with the help of social scientists Fernanda Mendes and Emilly Menezes Franco.

Which is Girl Power?

In its literal translation, Girl Power stands for girl power, being interpreted as female power. In this sense, the concept is associated with feminism and has become popular along with the movement. Thus, the expression proves to be important in reminding women to find and demand their strength, reaffirming their existence through this saying.

Social Sciences researcher Emilly Menezes Franco states that “the term is used, above all, by liberal feminism and has been popularized in the media in recent decades, mainly by the communication and commercialization niches of products aimed at the female audience”.

In its representativeness, the concept encompasses the act of using one’s skills to represent the female strength and power of achievement belonging to women.

How does the term arise Girl Power?

The expression Girl Power emerges as a phrase far removed from the use attributed to it today, of female empowerment. According to Fernanda Mendes, it is easier to understand its origin by recalling another term created in 1943, we can do itwhich associated the image of a female worker with female strength.

“It is worth mentioning that this first image and the slogan in question were created to stimulate the workers in the midst of a war context, therefore, it had nothing to do with the feminist movement”, explains Mendes. This highlights the different priorities of women in the mid-twentieth century, because even if there were already exclusive demands of the gender, the moment called for the reaffirmation of female strength in order to operate machinery while men went to war, and not as a political manifestation. .

According to the social scientist, in the same way, the term Girl Power, away from a political movement for women’s rights. He comes along with the band Spice Girlsas a way of representing female power within the logic of the music industry.

The problems resulting from the use of the expression Girl Power

If a term appears in the logic of serving the system of domination and oppression in which women are inserted, such as the music industry, there are some problems as a consequence.

Fernanda Mendes states that “pop culture, associated with the ideology of the cultural industry, as already mentioned, does not stimulate in-depth critical reflection and transforms everything into merchandise”. In this sense, some issues that need to be linked to the feminist struggle so that it can be understood and really instrumentalize women to resist the logic of male domination are left out.

Mendes raises some questions such as “where would this Female Power be? How to experience it? These are questions whose answers we will not find in media feminism. by Spice Girls”. Such feminism serves the media and works according to their logic, which, as a result, are governed by the logic of domination (capitalist and patriarchal) so that the system remains.

Therefore, even if you use the said Girl Power, the means to actually express female power are unknown, since, in the operating logic, the strength of women is limited, if not disabled. “It is essential to point out, as a social scientist, the existing limits in a discourse that defends female empowerment, but which, on the other hand, is not critical in relation to the greatest system of oppression in which women are inserted: capitalism”, he adds. Emily Franco.

Furthermore, Franco points out that, “if, on the one hand, it is an advance that ‘women’s issues’ are increasingly popularized in society’s debates, on the other hand, the transformative potential is limited when the discussions held do not problematize the liberal discourse of equality for consumption, dominant in the notion of Girl Poweralso disregarding issues such as race and class”.

Can there be a redefinition of the term?

This does not mean, however, that the term cannot be re-signified in a more complex understanding, because, even if it can serve a logic of female domination and exploitation, it can, today, be a gateway for women to know more deeply the feminist movement.

In that sense, the Girl Power, so widespread in the media, can serve as a form of first contact with issues of women’s and feminist struggle. “By using such an efficient instrument of power as the media, it reaches a greater radius of action in/in young people. However, this pop feminism does not lend itself to delving into important debates, only tangentially. Therefore, I believe that, as a starting point, it can be effective, but it does not generate reflection with a view to social change”, concludes Fernanda Mendes.

The term Girl Power in the culture

The insertion of the term Girl Power in culture happens along with the popularization of the feminist movement in the last decade. Now, good art from the population has access to the term, regardless of whether they are supporters or not. In other words, the debate leaves a little outside the circle of gender scholars or egalitarian activists.

By wearing clothes, listening to music, and speaking phrases marked by the concept, it is possible to show yourself as part of the cause and represent even what is considered the most banal, such as wearing a blouse, what makes you a political being and what you fight for. .

Representativeness, in this scenario, is essential, as it arises in the sense that different people who are part of the same struggle can feel represented by what is being demanded by this group, in addition to popularizing the cause and generating identification with other supporters.

However, the femvertising (advertisements aimed at the female audience) also exists as a way for capitalism to reinvent itself and satisfy the demands of the oppressed class, co-opting the struggle and always finding a way to make profits and appropriate movements that go against its ideology.

In this way, it is important to reiterate the need to go beyond the shop window movement, serving it only as a means of representation and popularization of the struggle, and a way of politicizing, even in mundane issues such as clothes and tattoos. Always remembering that the fight goes far beyond that.

Did you like to know the expression better? As explained in the article, she is just a gateway to the feminist movement. Now, if you want to dig deeper, check out more terms from the struggle in the feminist glossary and stay on top of the movement!